North American operation accounts for two-thirds of ground engineer’s business
Keller has turned in another set of record results as the ground engineer reaped the benefits of booming workloads in North America.
The firm said group revenue edged up 1% to £2.98bn with pre-tax profit up 46% to £184m. Operating profit was up 34% to £205m.
Revenue from its biggest business, North America, was up 5% to £1.9bn with underlying operating profit up 16% to £190m.
Chief executive Michael Speakman said there was no sign of a slowdown in the region despite the recent presidential election. “It’s going from strength to strength,” he said. “There’s no change in the bid rate.”
He said Keller was largely unaffected by President Trump’s imposition of tariffs, which has seen several countries hit with the tax, including Canada, although he said parts of its Suncoast business, which uses steel foundations, might be impacted.
The firm’s Europe and Middle East business saw income grow 5% to £835m but underlying operating profit fell 18% to £8m.
Keller carries out less than 3% of its work in the UK with its major job here being its work on the HS2 line in the Chilterns and further north which is expected to finish in the next 12 months.
Speakman said the new government’s planned changes to make it easier to build in the UK were a good idea but added: “Speed is not the biggest issue. The bigger issue is consistency of demand. It doesn’t do the supply chain any good having peaks and troughs.”
Keller is paying its 31st consecutive dividend since being listed in 1994 with a payment of 49.7p, a rise of 10% on last year. The firm’s order book was a record £1.6bn, up £100m, at the year-end.
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